De Zerbi launches Spurs survival bid and long-term plan to reach ‘first position in Premier League’
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While De Zerbi declared himself moderately pleased with their overall performance at the Stadium of Light, the Italian acknowledged that he must address mentality issues to ensure they avoid the ignominy of arguably the most shocking relegation in Premier League history.
Asked about climbing out of trouble by Sky Sports, De Zerbi said: ”It’s what we have to do. We can just work, transfer what I think because I’m an honest man, and I’m telling you what I think and what is my opinion.
”We have big players. Now they are in a bad moment … but we have to work on one win because with one win we can change everything in this season.”
De Zerbi said he will commit every waking moment to turning things around in north London, adding that, despite only half a dozen games remaining, time to get his message across to the players is ”not a problem”.
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Sergio Romero departs in tears with an apparent knee injury.
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The former Brighton & Hove Albion coach said: ”I have 24 hours per day. It’s not a problem of time. I’d like to find the right way to reach the head of my players because I’m honest. I can say the quality of the players are big but it’s not enough. We need to believe more in ourselves and our team-mates. The crucial part is to win one game.”
On the performance, De Zerbi added: ”I think we played a good game but not enough to win. We didn’t deserve to lose but we have to accept, move on and prepare the next game.
”We played a good game but we’re suffering in this moment. We have to be stronger. We have the quality enough to come out of this difficult moment.”
To compound matters, Sergio Romero departed in tears after appearing to injury a knee in the 70th minute when under pressure from Brian Brobbey.
”I’m sorry for the result and the Romero injury,” De Zerbi said. ”I hope for us and for him it’s not something important.”
Next up, Spurs host De Zerbi’s former side Albion on Saturday, April 18, while Sunderland travel to Aston Villa the following day.
The Black Cats returned to the top half of the table thanks to a third win in four. However, head coach Regis Le Bris said he is not willing to rest on his laurels despite an impressive return to the top flight.
“We want to improve our style of play, we still want to enforce our ideas and we still have room for improvement in the final third,” he told the BBC. ”Top 10 is a good aim and we have to be consistent. The most important is the improvement.”